DIY Sorority Kitchen Weekend Meals

Get more Spoon in your feed.

Get Spoon University delivered to you

You tryna be tricky? That email doesn't look right.

After busy and stress-filled weeks, weekends tend to come as major relief for us students with hectic lifestyles. For a couple short days, we are granted more time to relax, watch TV, catch up with friends and go out, all without the imminent stress of having to be in class.

However, for the women of Northwestern involved in Greek life who live in their designated sorority houses, the weekends do have a bit of a downfall: the chefs are off. For those who are unfamiliar with sorority living, each sorority house is equipped with a chef who prepares lunch and dinner for the girls in the house Monday through Friday. But come Saturday and Sunday, the kitchens become skeletons, left with just the food that is regularly stocked for personal use. An additional bummer is that sorority members don’t have access to the cooking appliances in the kitchen, so no tremendous cooking can be done by anyone besides the chefs.

So attention sorority in-house members: as tempting as it may seem to sustain yourselves via GrubHub all weekend, it’s time to shed some light on several easy, filling and relatively healthy foods that you can prepare with what’s left behind in your kitchens.

Disclaimer: not every sorority kitchen is identical, but most of these food items I’m about to mention are staples of any sorority kitchen and could be easily bought for personal use if the kitchen happens to lack an ingredient or two.

Breakfast: Peanut Butter and Banana French Toast Sandwich

Photo by Alexa Santos

I bet no one thought to make French toast for themselves in the sorority kitchen. It’s actually very simple and fun; just make sure you have a bowl big enough to dip the pieces of bread in. This recipe is perfect if you’re getting sick of cereal and granola bars every day for breakfast.

Directions:
1. Crack the eggs and pour the milk and honey into a reasonably sized bowl; mix well.
2. Dip the pieces of bread into the egg mixture. Make sure to get both sides of the bread covered well.
3. On a preheated fry pan, lay the pieces of bread down to cook. Let it get golden brown, then flip it over.
4. Remove the bread from the heat and let cool for a couple of minutes.
5. Spread the peanut butter on one side of both pieces of bread.
6. Slice a banana into 1/4-inch thick pieces and lay them on top of the peanut butter on one piece of bread.
7. Stick the two pieces of bread together and enjoy!

Lunch: “Egg McMuffin” Sandwich

Photo by Alexa Santos

This recipe can also double as a breakfast meal, but it’s filling and savory enough to make a great lunch. As far as the meat component goes, there’s leeway for experimentation. Any lunch meats (ham, turkey, salami) will work well, or if you want to go all the way, bacon or leftover chicken breast will also do the trick.

Directions:
1. Put the 2 pieces of the English muffin into the toaster
2. While those are toasting, crack the egg onto it a fry pan.
3. Let the egg cook on that side and push the outer edges of the egg together with a spatula so it will be easier to flip.
4. Once you think the bottom part of the egg is cooked enough to the point where you can lift it with a spatula, flip it to the other side. Let this side cook for just a minute if you like a runny yolk, or leave it on there for about 3 minutes if you like your yolk more solid.
5. Once your muffin pops out of the toaster, put each side of it in the pan.
6. Put the cooked egg on one side of the muffin and the meat and cheese on the other.
7. Put the sandwich together and eat up.

Dinner: Chicken and Veggie Grilled Cheese

Photo by Alexa Santos

Most of us have made grilled cheese before, but there isn’t very much nutritional value in a plain grilled cheese sandwich. That’s why if you want a filling, nutritious dinner without having to order in or go out, throw some fresh vegetables and leftover protein into the mix. Make a salad on the side if you would like, and you’ve got yourself a healthy, yummy, easy dinner.

Easy

Prep Time: 2 minutesCook Time: 3-5 minutesTotal Time: 5-7 minutes

Ingredients:
2 pieces of bread
2-3 pieces of cheese
1 string cheese (optional)
Leftover chicken breast (or pork, or whatever meat you want to use)
Vegetables of choice from the salad bar (peppers and broccoli work well, but feel free to throw in any veggies you enjoy)

Directions:
1. Take one piece of bread and lay down 2 or 3 pieces of cheese. (This sandwich is really good if you use multiple types of cheese.)
2. On top of the cheese, put down whatever meat you’re going to use. I used a leftover chicken breast from dinner, but you can also use lunch meats or whatever you have handy in the kitchen that night.
3. Throw on the vegetables. Don’t put too much, though, or they will fall out when you grill it.
4. Take the other bare piece of bread. If there is string cheese in the kitchen, rip the cheese into thin pieces and line them up on the bread. If not, use another piece of flat cheese. The cheese on this piece of bread oozes into the veggies & chicken and makes it delicious and gooey.
5. Close the sandwich and place it onto a griddle. Close the grill and let it cook until the cheese is all melty.
6. Once the grill is borderline messy from cheese overflow, take the sandwich out and enjoy.

Snack: Parfait

Photo by Alexa Santos

Easy

Prep Time: 5 minutesCook Time: 0 minutesTotal Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
1 or 2 little cartons of yogurt, depending on how much you want
1 or 2 cups of granola, or any other cereal of your choosing
Fruit (optional)

Directions:
1. Get a cup and a spoon and scoop out about an inch-high layer of yogurt into the bottom of the cup.
2. Then layer in an inch of the granola or cereal of your choice.
3. Repeat until you’ve reached your desired height of parfait.
4. Feel free to add whatever fruits are around.

Snack: Apple & Cheese Toast

Easy

Prep Time: 2 minutesCook Time: 1 minuteTotal Time: 3 minutes

Ingredients:
1 slice of bread
1 apple
2 or 3 slices of cheese

Directions:
1. Lay the slices of cheese down on the bread.
2. Stick the bread into the microwave for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until you see the cheese start to bubble.
3. Once the cheese is melted, cut the apple into thin slices and lay it down on top of the cheese.
4. Take a nice big bite.

All of these recipes are very simple and very easily modified to personal tastes and personal supplies of ingredients. If any of the ingredients are not available, they are very flexible to substitutions.